# Minnesota Women's Campaign Fund *Bipartisan Minnesota organization, co-founded in 1982 to elect women candidates in both parties; now called WomenWinning* The **Minnesota Women's Campaign Fund**, now called WomenWinning, is a bipartisan organization in [[Minnesota]]. It was co-founded in 1982 to elect women candidates in both parties.[^1][^2] Its two co-founders came from opposing parties. [[Kathleen Ridder]] was a Republican, and [[Marlene Johnson]] was a member of the DFL. The source identifies Johnson as Minnesota's first woman Lieutenant Governor.[^1][^2] The source document places the founding in its account of the two partisan "poles" that "coordinated, on the record."[^1] It sets the fund beside two other bodies. The first is the [[GOP Feminist Caucus]], which kept a standing subject file labeled "DFL feminists" (1974–76). The second is the non-partisan [[Minnesota Women's Political Caucus]], which the source calls "the neutral channel where both sides met."[^1] The document's source note attributes the founding details to the [[Star Tribune]], MPR and WomenWinning, and marks them primary-confirmed.[^2] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Kathleen Ridder, a Republican, co-founded the fund.[^1] - Marlene Johnson of the DFL, identified as Minnesota's first woman Lieutenant Governor, co-founded the fund.[^1][^2] ### What - The fund is a bipartisan organization and now operates as WomenWinning.[^1][^2] ### When - The fund was co-founded in 1982.[^2] ### Why - The founders' stated aim was to elect women candidates in both parties.[^1][^2] ## Notes [^1]: *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, 2026-06-18), main text — states that the GOP Feminist Caucus kept a subject file labeled "DFL feminists" (1974–76), that the Minnesota Women's Political Caucus was the neutral channel between the sides, and that "in 1982 the Republican Kathleen Ridder and the DFL's Marlene Johnson — Minnesota's first woman Lieutenant Governor — co-founded the bipartisan Minnesota Women's Campaign Fund (now WomenWinning) to elect women candidates in both parties." (Validated pack passage; no URL for this document is in the allowed sources.) [^2]: *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, 2026-06-18), source note [25] — records that the fund was "co-founded 1982 by Marlene Johnson (DFL, Minnesota's first woman Lieutenant Governor) and Kathleen Ridder (R) to elect women candidates in both parties". The note cites Star Tribune, MPR and WomenWinning and is marked primary-confirmed. (Validated pack passage; no URL for this document is in the allowed sources.)